


(Do) Opposites Attract

by shopfront



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-16
Updated: 2017-01-16
Packaged: 2018-09-14 19:22:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9199190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shopfront/pseuds/shopfront
Summary: Ronald Weasley's type is people who yell at him. What chain of events might result in Harry and Ron bickering a little more, and bonding a little less, on the first day of Hogwarts? A re-imagining of Philosopher's Stone.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Nea](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nea/gifts).



Sometimes Harry wonders what might have happened if he'd paid a little less attention to the Dursleys driving away, and a little more to heading straight into Kings Cross Station. He has a sneaking suspicion he'd have been wandering around for hours asking all the muggle station staff for help like a right idiot. Probably would have missed the train, too. 

Thankfully it hadn't come to that. 

Instead, he'd met his best friend when her parents had pulled up in the parking spot the Dursleys had just sped out of.

"Hullo! Is that an owl you've got there? We must be going to the same school, then. I thought about getting an owl, too. I did all the research on the kinds of pets we're allowed to have in our first year, and an owl seems very useful, certainly, but apparently they have school owls if we need to send post-"

Harry had just blinked, looking back and forth between the complete stranger (or rather, the back of her rather wild hair as she rummaged in the backseat for her things) and the owl in question.

"-and then when I was doing my second reading of Hogwarts, A History, I noticed that they loosened the rules for older students a few decades ago. So I decided to wait for now. I'm hoping I can get special approval for a cat or maybe a magical creature of some sort, although that's not very likely. Those are very closely regulated, and I suppose I can't very well bring it back home over summer."

She finally stopped for air and Harry raised a hand slowly, kind of waved it a little, and then dropped it again quickly with a blush.

"Uh, hi, I'm Harry Potter," he said.

"Pleasure to meet you, Harry. I'm Hermione Granger. Have you looked for the platform yet? I've got the directions here that came with the letter. They sound a bit odd but no more so than getting to Diagonal Alley was I suppose, so we should be alright. Is that all you're bringing? I had so much trouble packing, what if-"

-and off they had gone with Hermione still speaking rather rapidly as they walked, though it didn't take Harry very long to get used to that.

It was kind of nice actually. Harry was already used to being quiet from living with the Dursleys. Once she'd finished embarrassing him by exclaiming over his scar on the platform, Harry even found he rather enjoyed being protected by a loud person instead of targeted by one. She all but verbally trampled her way over a small group of boys (he almost felt bad, but they reminded Harry a little of Dudley so he decided not to bother) to get the last empty compartment to themselves when other people also started staring at his scar.

So when a couple of redheads had introduced themselves as Weasleys and one of the twins had poked fun at Hermione's hair on the train, Harry had told them all to get lost. Then some kid named Malfoy had called her names outside the Great Hall and Harry found himself insulting him right back, and not too long later he knew exactly which House he wanted to be Sorted into: the same one as his new friend.

It all rather set the tone of them being those inseparable two Gryffindor firsties from there. 

Harry quickly learnt to dislike the scrutiny that came with being The Boy Who Lived, but Hermione was very good at talking up a storm when someone needed distracting. He wasn't as bothered as she was about not knowing typical Wizarding things, but he also didn't like to read himself and didn't want to look like a complete dolt so listening to her ramble about her latest book wasn't so bad. Maybe it was a bit annoying that she slept in another part of the tower, especially when weird stuff started happening and he wanted someone to talk to about it after lights out. But Harry had never really had a friend before, so he wasn't about to complain about this one. Everyone quickly got used to leaving them alone to whisper in a corner of the common room, anyway.

Things might have continued on like that, just the two of them, if the younger Weasley - Ron, Harry had found out when they got to their room - hadn't held a bit of a grudge about the great Harry Potter kicking him out of a train compartment.

Ron didn't seem so bad at first, without his brothers to back him up. But it only took a few minutes after lights out before he was whispering in the dark, "why in Merlin's name are you friends with _her_ ", and Harry was already right fed up with everyone insulting his first friend. So that was that.

The only other boy in the room that wasn't too overawed by his scar was Neville. But Harry had second thoughts about making friends with him when he realised the prospect of improving Neville's grades just made Hermione want to talk about books _even more_. He still felt a bit guilty though, so when Malfoy stole Neville's remembrall Harry ignored Hermione hissing about rules and expulsion and hopped right on his broom.

Joining the Quidditch team was pretty cool though, and talking to Ron suddenly became a little less fraught when Hermione wasn't always the main subject of conversation. 

But then something would happen like Ron catching her rolling her eyes when he ran into class late and flustered (Hermione made extra sure they were always early to find good seats), and somehow they would be back to square one all over again.

They even got attacked by a troll because Harry had to drag Ron to one of the girls bathrooms by his ear to apologise when Hermione ran there in tears after Charms class one day. Besides, just like he'd told Ron (repeatedly, and at great volume, until it really sunk in): "I might be friends with Hermione but _I_ never make her cry. You're the one who said he had a sister so you need to figure out how to fix this because I have no idea what else to do!"

Afterward, Hermione forgave Ron because he confessed to the professors about being the reason none of them had been at dinner in the first place to hear the warning about the troll. But Harry wasn't entirely convinced. Hermione was a little bit scary when she was upset, after all, and Harry was usually the one left to fix things after Ron had blundered in.

Hermione often beckoned Ron over to their corner of an evening from then on, but somehow by the time they were half way up the stairs to bed Harry and Ron were always back to fighting between themselves.

Still. Most of the time Hermione was there to mediate, and that seemed to do the trick. The Gryffindor duo became a trio, and once Harry had a fair few square meals and a lot of Quidditch practice to put a little muscle on him they turned their sharp words into shoulder bumps and half hearted scuffles in the corridors and found an odd sort of peace. 

At least Hermione just rolled her eyes at the rough and tumble and called them _such boys_ , rather than lecturing them on the importance of friendship like she did when they came to verbal blows.

Christmas on their own wasn't even too bad, either. Harry felt sick to his stomach when Ron said his family was going to Romania without him. He even stooped to willingly enduring the friendship lecture that resulted from begging Hermione to stay behind with them. But it was kind of... comfortable, fighting with nobody to hear them or judge them. Maybe even a little bit fun.

One night in the new year when Ron was off somewhere with his brothers, he even admitted as much to Hermione. She gave him something of a searching look and then smiled, and they said no more about it. She didn't interrupt so much when they fought, after that. Though she did start laughing at them more.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy fandom stocking day, I hope this little taste of canon divergence is enough to make you smile!
> 
> I left things open ended, obviously, but my personal favourite idea that I didn't have time to write my way up to of how they get together is Hermione throwing her hands up in exasperation about the Yule Ball, calling them idiots about not really wanting anyone particular as a date and very pointedly suggesting they just go together already, honestly.


End file.
